New Strategy Builds On Success Of Neighbourhood Policing

by Marion Lewis

Chair : Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network ( England & Wales)

The ‘Safe and Confident Neighbourhoods‘ Strategy builds on the success of neighbourhood policing and will ensure anyone with a concern about crime and antisocial behaviour gets the assistance they need. It will also make it easier for the public to play their part in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour. This will be achieved through:

• rolling out a national police non-emergency telephone number – 101 – by 2012, making it as easy to report antisocial behaviour and crime over the phone as it is to report an emergency by dialling 999
• support to enable communities to negotiate and sign neighbourhood agreements on how their local services, including the police, will keep their neighbourhood safe in 12 pathfinder areas across the country – and supporting more than 100 interested areas
• more support for Neighbourhood Watch, including to work with Age UK to recruit older people (see details below)
• support from the Future Jobs Fund to employ young people in roles, such as police cadets, to support neighbourhood policing
• inviting chairs of magistrates’ benches to make appropriate arrangements by which magistrates could be involved with neighbourhood partnerships in their areas, whilst protecting judicial independence and avoiding any perception of bias
• repeating the successful Community Cashback scheme allowing people a say – including through online voting – on how a further £4m of criminals ill-gotten gains are spent.

You can access the strategy – and related links on the evidence, how neighbourhood policing teams and other parts of the force are mutually supportive, and models of neighbourhood partnerships here http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/community-policing/safe-confident-neighbourhoods/

Neighbourhood Watch has a key role to play in tapping into the energy and enthusiasm of an estimated 3.8 million current households and others who wish to get involved.   Its members can provide local intelligence, assist with planning and delivering campaigns (for example on home security), volunteer and act as a bridge between services and the community. In particular these could be older people who, by engaging with services, could feelmore secure in their homes.

The Government will invest a further £180,000 to support the development of the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network to work with and support volunteers in areas of greatest need, ensure they work closely with neighbourhood policing teams and promote these schemes to the public.

Additional funding has already been provided for Age UK to work with Neighbourhood Watch to encourage larger numbers of older people to become involved and train co‑ordinators to identify and work with the most vulnerable old people in their communities.

Other commitments in the strategy include:

• extra money for communities with low levels of confidence in their local police and council to vote online on how best spend money on local project to tackle crime and ASB issues
• a clear minimum level of local information that should be given to the public including outcomes of high profile court cases, details of out-of-court disposals, asset recovery seizures, community payback results and numbers of offences brought to justice
• making local information on public confidence levels available online, building on the success of the national crimemapper website
• launching a PCSO accreditation to recognise and develop PCSOs working for their communities
• introducing a new justice outcome webportal so people can access magistrates court outcomes online.